Effects of early undernutrition on dendritic spines of cortical pyramidal cells in the rat

Restricted food intake in male rats between birth and 20 days of age reduced the density of spines of layer V pyramidal cells in the frontal, parietal and occipital cortices. The loss of dendritic spines was more marked in pyramidal cell areas receiving projections from nonspecific multisynaptic systems than in cell areas associated with specific afferent systems or in areas receiving callosal projections. It was suggested that the differential effect of undernutrition in nonspecific, specific and callosal afferent projection areas of the pyramidal cortex might be related to the impairment of brain integrative functions reported to follow perinatal undernourishment.